BECAUSE WEDDING GOWNS ARE WHITE

PERCHÈ L'ABITO DA SPOSA È BIANCO

Did you ever wonder why, at a certain point in history, brides started to wear white gowns? It is common knowledge that in the Middle Ages, as well as in the following ages, wedding gowns were
not totally white, but rather a combination of various hues. From the 19th

century onwards, wedding gowns were fully white. The trend of wearing White spread from the middle-class to the lower classes.

At the beginning, white did not represent purity: it rather had a political meaning. The reason was that, in 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte put a stop to the flow of dyes to continental Europe in an
attempt to undermine British economy.

It was only after the Restoration that white came to represent purity and chastity. Before then, however, a woman chose to wear a white wedding gown even though it was not a tradition: Mary
Stuart when she married King Francis II.

White became the most fitting hue for a bride in 1840, after the wedding of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert. Pictures showing her stunning white dress inspired thousands of common people to
follow suit. Thereafter, however, White took on a different meaning, that is, purity and chastity. At present, it is standard for brides to wear white.